Corner armor... goes on, never comes off?

[jrmcafee]

I'm not a fan of corner armor.

Let me start over. I'm not a fan of things on vehicles that don't serve a purpose for me. I don't plan to trail-run my Jeep, which is why I'm lowering it, downsizing tires, getting full doors, removing the grille guard, roll cage, etc.

I can certainly see the point of corner armor, but not as it applies to enjoying some back roads with my kids on the weekends.

The Jeep I bought a couple of months ago has what appears to be riveted corner armor. I'm not seeing a lot of threads or articles on removing this stuff, so is this something that goes on and doesn't come off?

Am I better served to paint this a dark color and just live with it?

 

[jjvw]

If you remove the armor, will you be ok with the holes it leaves behind?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

If you remove the armor, will you be ok with the holes it leaves behind?

Not to mention the paint underneath it is likely to have been rubbed into terrible condition.

 

[mrblaine]

. I'm not a fan of things on vehicles that don't serve a purpose for me.

The above is not like the below.

I don't plan to trail-run my Jeep,

Maybe you want to rethink your vehicle choice.

 

[jrmcafee]

The above is not like the below.

Maybe you want to rethink your vehicle choice.

I've always had removable top vehicles across my driving years. Most were 2-seater roadsters and absent of 3 kids, I'd be right back into one. This was a compromise between the want for a vehicle I can take the top off of and being able to haul my 3 small kids regularly. Never been a fan of "big" convertible cars with backseats, so this was my move, for better or worse.

I'm not ruling out some off-roading in the future, but it's being tooled right now to mostly road-run.

It sounds like the corner guards will remain and I'll need to paint them so they're not quite so prolific.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Paint your Jeep like this and you won't even notice the corner armor.

p.s. Some people install corner armor AFTER the damage is already done.

 

[rasband]

I've always had removable top vehicles across my driving years. Most were 2-seater roadsters and absent of 3 kids, I'd be right back into one. This was a compromise between the want for a vehicle I can take the top off of and being able to haul my 3 small kids regularly. Never been a fan of "big" convertible cars with backseats, so this was my move, for better or worse.

Unless one of them is big enough for the front seat (maybe I’m reading into “small kids”?), how are you hauling 3 kids in a TJ?

 

[Steel City 06]

Do you have any pictures of this corner armor? I imagine the difficulty in removing it very much depends on how it is mounted.

If it uses actual solid rivets it might be very difficult to remove without the right tools. Blind rivets generally aren't too hard to remove with just a drill. It's possible they could even just be decorative.

 

[someguysjeep]

anything can be done.........but sounds like you bought more jeep than you needed.
if it looks ok leave it, it's not gonna effect anything. and like mentioned whats been done to the corners to mount them would be a PITA to restore.

what shapes it in? you might be better trading with someone for a stock unit.
good news is there's likely someone to trade you for bigger wheels and lift springs and 1/2 doors if it's all in good shape. hell i might trade my full doors for good 1/2's.

what are you referring to as a roll cage? the sport bar, or aftermarket? you need to leave the sport bar alone. it's the only safety device above your head. rollovers don't just happen on trails.

this post needs lots of pictures.

 

[Goatman]

There is a pretty fair chance the armor was added AFTER it was needed. Can you see any body damage behind the wheel well liner? You could swap to aluminum panels if they are being used to hide damage. That way you get to lose weight but keep the benefits of the corner armor.

 

[jrmcafee]

I’ll add a couple of pics in a bit but I am hoping to either gradually bring it back to stock or update the mods enough that it’s worth buying. @someguysjeep the roll cage was definitely aftermarket. I could post lots of pics to illustrate but effectively it was the extensions rounded down to the floor pans and bolted through the drain plug, then a crossmember at the top of the windshield. Really intrusive. I swapped someone yesterday for the normal sport bar extensions.

It seems like the group is validating that simply living with them is the most practical option. I will probably end up painting them a less conspicuous color so they don’t stand out so much.

 

[jrmcafee]

 

[suicideking]

You could paint those. Though if you're not a fan of the diamond plate, you could replace with something like these:

https://shop.poisonspyder.com/TJ-Trail-Corners-LED-Taillights-p/14-06-020-pc.htm

Have them painted to match your body color.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Now I see why you hate them. Me too. Paint won't hide the ugly.

p.s. That's not really corner armor. More like corner "bling".

 

[jrmcafee]

Unless one of them is big enough for the front seat (maybe I’m reading into “small kids”?), how are you hauling 3 kids in a TJ?

One has just hit the mark for front seat age/height/weight in TN.

 

[jrmcafee]

Now I see why you hate them. Me too. Paint won't hide the ugly.

p.s. That's not really corner armor. More like corner "bling".

Yeah there’s a lot of de-blinging going on right now. I’ve crafted the story in my head that at some point, a college kid with more money than sense got his hands on this 2.5 and decided to throw a weird mix of intense performance and aesthetic mods onto it without much thought to the logic or purpose.

I bought a rattle can of gunmetal grey that I repainted my center dash surround with this evening (it was bedliner green). I’m hoping the dark grey on green is a good combo. Might do the doors and wheels in a similar color if it works out.

 

[RINC]

Paint your Jeep like this and you won't even notice the corner armor.

p.s. Some people install corner armor AFTER the damage is already done.
View attachment 234033
View attachment 234349
View attachment 234361

Hell Yeah Brother !

 

[Steel City 06]

Are those guards actually metal, or are they plastic? They might just be held on with adhesive. A hair dryer, some pulling force, and some Goo Gone might be able to take care of them

 

[jrmcafee]

Are those guards actually metal, or are they plastic? They might just be held on with adhesive. A hair dryer, some pulling force, and some Goo Gone might be able to take care of them

They’re metal and appear to have rivets. I wish they were plastic. I’d be more apt to go to town on them and take a chance. The rest of the paint isn’t awesome so if it were a little off I could live with that. My doors are a different color code so eventually everything will need to be re-shot.

 

[Chris]

Maybe you want to rethink your vehicle choice.

Tell that to all the JK and JL owners you see who never leave the pavement. They’re “cool SUVs” at this point.